POZIV K NUJNI ZAŠČITI SVOBODE IZRAŽANJA V RUSIJI IN BELORUSIJI

Ker je svoboda izražanja temelj vseh in vsakršnih človekovih pravic in osrednja vrednota Mednarodnega PEN-a, kakor je bil zamišljen in ustanovljen pred sto leti, po tragediji prve svetovne vojne,

ob grozi posnetkov tankovskih kolon in letalskih formacij, ki uničujejo mesta in obstreljujejo celo največjo jedrsko centralo v Ukrajini, kar sili tolike ženske k begu, da bi rešile življenja svojih otrok, njihove možé, očete in brate pa k obrambi domovine pred neusmiljenim agresorjem,

z bojaznijo za varnost in življenja številnih častnih in pogumnih pisateljskih in novinarskih kolegic in kolegov ter mnogih drugih državljank in državljanov Rusije in Belorusije, ki dvigajo svoje kritične glasove zoper to nevarno blaznost,

me in mi, pesnice in pesniki, pisatelji-ce, dramatičarke in dramatiki, esejistke in esejisti,  urednice in uredniki, prevajalke in prevajalci, novinarke in novinarji sveta najostreje obsojamo radikalno cenzuro, ki jo je vpeljal predsednik Ruske federacije Vladimir Putin in ki jo je potrdila ruska Duma, obsojamo zapiranje dostopa do mednarodnih medijskih kanalov in z grožnjo drakoničnih kazni pospremljeno prepoved, ki inkriminira ne le sleherno kritiko skrajno uničevalne agresije ruske armade zoper Ukrajino, temveč celó javno rabo tako očitnih izrazov, kot sta “vojna” in “invazija”, kar spodbuja doslej nevideno zlorabo prava z učinkovanjem tega “zakona” za nazaj,

kot človeška bitja, državljanke in državljani pa pričakujemo, da bodo vse demokratične države z Združenimi narodi na čelu obsodile te skrajne ukrepe zoper svobodo izražanja, ki je eden izmed najpomembnejših instrumentov pri preprečevanju nadaljnjega trpljenja ukrajinskega ljudstva ter eskalacije ruske invazije in Putinove vojne (tokrat brez narekovajev) zoper sosednje države in širše zoper Evropo in …

Boris A. Novak, slovenski pesnik, podpredsednik Mednarodnega PEN-a,

Monika b. van Paemel, flamska pisateljica, častna predsednica

nizozemsko govornega PEN centra Belgije

5. marec 2022

AN APPEAL FOR THE URGENT PROTECTION OF THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN RUSSIA AND BELARUS

Since freedom of expression is the foundation of human rights and the leading value of International PEN, as established in the aftermath of the Great War hundred years ago,

seeing in horror tanks and military airplanes destroying cities and targeting even the biggest nuclear plant in Ukraine, forcing so many women and children to run for their lives, and their husbands, fathers and brothers to defend their homeland against the ruthless aggressor, 

being afraid for the security and lives of numerous honest and brave colleagues writers and journalists and ordinary citizens of Russia and Belarus criticizing this dangerous madness,

we, the poets, playwrights, essayists, editors, novelists, translators and journalists of the world, condemn in strongest terms the radical censorship introduced by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and accepted by the Russian Parliament, closing the access to the international news channels and forbidding under the threat of draconic punishments not only each and every criticism of the utterly destructive aggression of the Russian army against the neighbouring Ukraine, but even the public use of such evident terms as “war” and “invasion”, and opening up to now an unprecedented abuse of legality with the retroactive power of this “law”,

and, finally, as human beings and citizens we expect that all democratic countries lead by the United Nations will condemn these radical measures against freedom of expression as one of the most important tools to prevent the further suffering of the Ukrainian people and the expansion of the Russian invasion and Putin’s war (this time without quotation marks) to the neighbouring countries and wider to Europe and …

Boris A. Novak, Slovenian poet, Vice-President of International PEN

Monika b. van Paemel, Flemish novelist, President in Honour

of the PEN Belgium Dutch speaking centre

March 5^th, 2022